Apparatus for rock-drilling.



G. H. LOOHER.

APPARATUS FOR BOOK DRILLING.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.18, 1909.

1,092,583. Patent d Apr. 7, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA MW m4 WASHMN. D. C.

O. H. LOOHER. APPARATUS FOR BOOK DRILLING. .APPLIGATION FILED 00213.18, 1909.

Patented Apr. 7, 19M

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q 7 :E: N Q

x a I G. H. LOGHER.

APPARATUS FOR ROCK DRILLING.

APPLICATION-FILED 00T.1B, 1909.

1,092,583. Patented Apr. 7, 191A 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Maineaaesr l fi CHARLES H. LOCI-IE3, O-F GLASGOW, VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR ROCK-DRILLING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GHARLns H. LOOI-IER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glasgow, in the county of Rockbridge and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Rock-Drilling, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for rock drilling, and has for its general object to provide an apparatus for the drilling of rock more economically, with greater facility, and at higher speed, than is practically attainable by the instruments heretofore known.

Rock drilling as heretofore practised has usually been carried 011 by means of tripod drills, limited in character to such as may be manually set up and transported, and in such drilling, as heretofore practised, much retardation is ordinarily suffered by the interposition between the fresh, intact rock surface and the drill point of rock particles already detached by the operation of the drill, serving in large measure to cushion the drills blow. Further, when, as often happens, the reaction of the drill causes shifting of the drill setting, with attendant binding or sticking of the steel or drill rod in the hole, resetting becomes a problem of such difficulty that it is often more economical to redrill at a fresh spot than to undertake the readjustment of the position of the drill, as the shift may occur in any direction, and the readjustment of the heavy apparatus to the necessary accuracy of location is a matter of greatest moment and extreme difficulty. And further, the transportation and setting of the drill in effect ing a series of operations, consumes an inordinate amount of time and labor, with consequent expense. In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention whereby to overcome these and many other difficulties heretofore involved in drilling by reason of the methods and apparatus heretofore employed, and I have found from'experience with practical embodiments of my invention, that by means and methods such as are hereinafter described, the speed of drilling, particularly of deep holes, may be markedly enhanced, and the cost of the drilling operations notably decreased.

In the embodiment of my invention Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 18, 1909.

Patented Apr. '7, 1914. Serial No. 523,322.

shown, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a drilling apparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is a side View of the drill rod and head in position in the hole. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the drill head.

The drilling apparatus shown comprises a self-propelled wheeled vehicle of the traction-engine type, generally indicated at 10, whereof 11 is the boiler, 12 and 13 the steering and traction wheels, the latter driven from a suitable engine, 14:, as through the instrumentality of the pinion, 15, and gear, 15, and the direction and rate of progress being controllable from an engineers plat form, 16, through any customary steering mechanism, 17, and throttle or other engine controller, 17. The body, 18, of the vehicle has connected thereto an extension frame, generally indicated at 20, which provides immediate support, guidance, and anchorage, for the drill propert To this end, said frame comprises a horizontal bearing structure extending beyond the end of the vehicle body and preferably out to both sides of the traction-wheel lines, provided with anchoring means, and a vertical drill guiding structure, which is arranged intermediate the anchorage points and the traction wheels, 13, which, of course, are generally located on opposite sides of the body and are of heavy broad-faced construction capable of powerfully resisting movement in any but the foreand-aft line of the vehicle, and the ve hicle as a whole obtains firm bearing without additional support of any kind. In the specific construction shown, the frame 20 provides two divergent arms, 21, preferably formed of commercial channel irons, one channel iron, 22, on each side of the vehicle running along and fastened to the body for an appropriate length to give requisite strength, and then extending out beyond the end of the vehicle at an angle to its fore-and-aft axis to a suitable distance, preferably to extend laterally beyond the wheels, 13. Another channel iron, 23, extends across the rear end of the vehicle body and then along each of the divergent portions of the channels, 22, lying back to back with said channels, 22, and bolted thereto, thereby to form part of the arms, 21, and to afford great strength and rigidity to the extension-frame construction. At their extremities the arms 21 carry heads,

24, in which are adjustably mounted the anchor points, 25, which may also be used to advantage in leveling the vehicle.

The extension frame carries two vertical guides, 26, positioned and strengthened by suitable braces, 27, and forming the guideway wherein may be moved the drill mechanism proper. These guides, as shown, are preferably located in the fore-and-aft line of the vehicle.

In practice, I employ a drill so heavily weighted that the weight acts as a fixed abutment against reaction, and to this end in the embodiment shown, I have illustrated the drill, 29, as having a cylinder vertically guided in the guides 26 and of such surplus weight as to have the desired stability. Obviously, however, additional weights might be used or added, sliding in the guides with the drill cylinder. The drill piston, of course, has coupled thereto the drill rod or steel, 30, carrying the usual drill point, 31. The weighted drill as a whole is bodily movable vertically in the guides, 26, being connected to be raised or lowered by a cable, 88, running over a sheave, 34, at the top of the guides 26, and connected to a winding drum, 35, suitably supported on the guideway, geared by appropriate gearing, 36, for operation by any suitable engine, 37 controllable as to speed by the operator from his station on the vehicle, so that the lowering of the drill may be effected at desired rate. The engine 37 may be run from the vehicle boiler, or independently operated, as desired.

The drill may be operated by any suitable power, the drill. in the present instance being indicated as a steam drill having connection with a steam separator, 40, upon the vehicle by piping, 41, controlled by a throttle, 42, said piping, 41, including a flexible connection with the drill, herein shown as the elbow-piping 41. For effective drilling, the hole being drilled is supplied with water and a fluid pressure connection moving with the drill is provided whereby the water in the hole may constantly be maintained in agitation and by increase of fluid pressure may, upon occasion, be blown out to clear the hole. In the specific construction shown, 45 inclicates a steam pipe and 46 a water pipe controlled by any suitable valve structure, 47, so that steam or water or both may be turned into a common piping lead, 48, communicating with the small supply pipe, 49, mechanically connected with the drill cylinder or otherwise arranged for vertical movement with the drill as a whole, so that its end remains always within a short substantiallyconstant distance from the bottom of the hole as the drill progresses.

In operation, the vehicle moves by its own power to any selected spot, and when brought to rest, may be anchored by the anchored points, 25, the great weight of the vehicle and stiffness of the bearing frame holding the anchor points firmly in the ground or rock at any depth to which they may be admitted, and minimizing the liability of the apparatus to shift. The drill is raised to the top of its guideways and started in operation, the hole as it is being made being filled with water to an appropriate depth, to stand normally at a level above the range of the drill-point movement, and the water being kept in violent motion by the constant admission of small quantities of fiuid,-in' the present instance steam--below its surface. Through the appropriate engine, gearing, and cable connections, the weighted drill is advanced at regulable speed to the work, the great weight imposed thereon, made possible by the character of the self-propelling installation, making the drill practically insensible to reaction fromthe rock and'so permitting the drill to operate with maximum effectiveness of stroke. This action is greatly enhanced by the method of liquid supply and agitation heretofore adverted to, as the liquid in the hole, maintained in constant agitation by the fluid introduced therein, keeps the particles of rock detached by.

the drill in comparatively violent agitation and keeps the surface upon which the drill is operating clear and free so that little of the effort of the drill is expended in pulverizing the already detached particles, and the maxi mum amount of its effort is effectively applied to the fresh surface constantly exposed. Occasionally the hole may be cleaned by the violent fluid blast, so that the drill may work always under its most advantageous conditions. Furthermore, it will be observed that by the arrangement as described, the entire drilling operation may be effected through the'power supplied by the steam generator of the self-propelled vehicle, if desired, al though other media of power, such as air pressure, may be used in conjunction with the drill and vehicle.

It will be noted that not only is the drill most advantageously anchored against movement by the application of the anchorage points at relatively widely-separated points beyond the lateral lines of the wheels and beyond the drill, but the construction of such self-propelled vehicle and its weight makes it practically impossible that movement of the apparatus shall take place save in the fore-and-aft line of the vehicle. Therefore, if it be found that the vehicle has moved at all, and the steel begins to bind or stick, the dragging marks of the relation to the hole. Thus, not only is the drill brought back accuratel and readily to initial position because the line of its movement is defined by the direction of the travel of the vehicle, but further if the slipping tendency is pronounced, the drill may be held to its initial anchorage point by maintenance of a braking pressure in the engine cylinder.

In practice, I have found that, operating with the apparatus and methods of my present invention, I have been able to greatly exceed in speed and cheapness the best records for rock drilling heretofore known.

While I have herein described in some detail a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes in the details of construction might be made without departure from the spirit and scope of my 1nvention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. I11 a drilling apparatus, the combination of a self-propelled vehicle, suitable arm members extending along each side of said vehicle and along the front thereof, the arms extending in pairs from the corner of the Vehicle outwardly at an angle to the longitudinal axis thereof to points longitudinally and laterally beyond the vehicle, suitable bearings upon the ends of said arms, and anchorage points in said bearings.

2. In a drilling apparatus, the combination of a suitable vehicle, drill-supporting guideways on the front end thereof, suitable channel irons extending along the front and sides of said vehicle, and extending from the front corners outwardly in pairs to points longitudinally and laterally beyond the vehicle, braces between the top of the guideways and the ends of said outwardly extending pairs of channel irons and between the top of the guideways and the vehicle in rear thereof, a weighted drill in said guideways, and suitable operating means therefor.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES H. LOCHER.

In the presence of V7. LINN ALLEN, MARY F. ALLEN,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

